May 21, 2009
After round two of the NCAA singles championship came to an end Thursday, Ohio State’s Steven Moneke was the lone Big Ten student-athlete to advance for a shot at the singles crown. For the second day in a row, Moneke used a straight-set victory to advance in the bracket, besting No. 18-ranked Enrique Oliveras of East Tennessee State, 6-3, 6-3, to punch his ticket to the NCAA round of 16.
With the win, the Buckeye senior improves to 20-2 overall in NCAA action and garners All-America distinction. The two-time ITA All-American prepares to march on to the round of 16 for the third consecutive season where he will meet 36th-ranked senior Jay Weinacker of North Carolina State at a time to be announced Friday.
Third-seeded Byran Koniecko of Ohio State ended the season after dropping a hard-fought 6-3, 6-7, 6-1, decision to Stanford’s No. 21-ranked Alex Clayton. The Buckeye senior ends the 2009 campaign with a 38-6 overall record.
After breezing through Wednesday’s opening round with straight-set victories, Illinois’ Dennis Nevolo and Roy Kalmanovich saw their road to the NCAA singles crown come to an end after falling in second-round competition on Thursday afternoon. Nevolo dropped a three-set decision to No. 12 Nate Schnugg of Georgia (4-6, 6-3, 7-5) while the tournament’s top-seed, Arnau Brugues of Tulsa, bested Kalmanovich, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3. With the losses, the Illini pair fall one match short of achieving All-America distinction.
Despite a late rally, Minnesota’s Ishay Hadash came up short in the NCAA singles round of 32, falling in the third set to Pepperdine’s Omar Altmann, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. The Gopher sophomore finishes the 2009 campaign with a 21-13 overall record, capped off by an impressive tournament performance in which he knocked off 10th-seeded Cory Parr of Wake Forest in Wednesday’s opening round.
Nevolo will return to the courts Thursday afternoon, teaming up with Ruan Roelofse in doubles competition. The Illini duo will face Auburn’s No. 10-ranked Tim Puetz and Alexey Tsyrenov at 3:30 p.m. Also in doubles action will be OSU’s Moneke and Justin Kronauge, slated to vie against No. 36-ranked Damon Gooch and Philip Nemec of Elon at 5:30 p.m.
Thursday’s NCAA Singles Results (Round of 32):
No. 1 Brugues (Tulsa) def. No. 50 Kalmanovich (Illinois), 4-6, 6-1, 6-3
Altmann (Pepperdine) def. No. 60 Hadash (Minnesota), 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
No. 12 Schnugg (Georgia) def. No. 39 Nevolo (Illinois), 4-6, 6-3, 7-5
No. 9 Moneke (Ohio State) def. No. 18 Oliveras (East Tennessee State), 6-3, 6-3
No. 21 Clayton (Stanford) def. No. 3 Koniecko (Ohio State), 6-3, 6-7, 6-1
Thursday’s NCAA Doubles Schedule:
No. 21 Nevolo/Roelofse (Illinois) vs. No. 10 Puetz/Tsyrenov (Auburn) / 3:30 p.m. (ET)
No. 14 Kronauge/Moneke (Ohio State) vs. No. 36 Gooch/Nemec (Elon) / 5:30 p.m. (ET)
NCAA Tournament Central
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